In 1916, Southern States was founded by Mr. W E Mitchell as an electric motor and transformer repair shop in Birmingham, Alabama. From the first product it developed and manufactured, a motor operator, Southern States displayed the spirit of innovation which the company has become so closely associated with. Subsequently developed products include expulsion power fuses, disconnect switches, distribution cutouts, substation connectors, and even complete substation packages. As the little business grew into a thriving corporation the available facility space at the Birmingham location was quickly consumed, necessitating a move to a larger plant.

In 1940, Southern States relocated to Hampton, Georgia, purchasing Henderson Foundry & Machine Works. This new home, a much larger facility, also had the advantages of a large machine shop and a foundry capable of producing many different metal castings. As the United States entered World War II in December, 1941, Southern States converted from a supplier to the electrical utility industry to a wartime industry producing bomb casings and firing pins for the U.S. military. The instrumental contribution of Southern States to the war effort was recognized through the presentation by the U.S. military of an Army-Navy "E" award for munitions excellence.

After the war Southern States production returned to serving the industry it knew so well, the electric utilities of the world. Business continued to grow through the years, necessitating facility expansions in 1952, 1959, 1964, and 1976.

Southern States vision of a company of innovators is evidenced by the more than 120 patents issued for various Southern States inventions in the 90 plus years since our founding. Examples of these many technological advances include the first substation class expulsion power fuses; the reverse loop contact finger for rotating blade disconnect switches (Amplitact®); the world's first and still only 1 million plus volt switch, an RDA 1100 kV double end break switch; the only single gap per phase SF6 full load break/loop break/line drop interrupter attachment for transmission class (69 kV through 230 kV) vertical break switches available in the world today, the LLS-II; the world's first single gap per phase SF6 special purpose capacitor switch with pre-insertion resistors for transient mitigation, the CapSwitcher®; and the list goes on and on with new inventions moving from the minds of our highly talented design engineers into production at an unprecedented pace, keeping in step with utility demands for better technology to provide reliable, high quality electric power to customers.

From our modest beginnings to our current position as the industry leader in the supply of disconnect switches and a growing force in the field of SF6 power switching and protection equipment, Southern States has remained true to its vision of providing cost-effective, high quality, innovative products and solutions to our broad base of customers.

In 2004, Southern States took a further step toward an expanded global presence through the acquisition of two European disconnect switch manufacturers, Egic of Lyon, France and Coelme of Venice, Italy. This move, coupled with the continued expansion of the SF6 products business and Southern States recent entry into the power electronics field with the CMD® current measuring device, positions Southern States well to build on our rich history as we move forward in the 21st century. The need for electric power never decreases, and Southern States is there to fill this need now and for many, many years to come. We are sure Mr. Mitchell would be proud of what Southern States has become-The Quality Name In High Voltage Switching.